Blade of the Lucan: A Memory of Anstractor (12 page)

“What do you need to know?” he asked.

“I need you to think about your life and what it means to you in comparison to a handful of resistance men and women inside your cells,” she said, pacing in front of him impatiently while playing with the knife.

“You mean the new ones they captured? Hey, I don’t have anything to do with that. I’m retired, for Maker’s sake. You captured the wrong trooper. I have nothing to do with that!” he screamed.

“You’re a decorated example for any young Veece noble that wants to join the militia. Your life, well no, your happiness and wealth, is a symbol to the troopers. If I were to kill you, or more specifically, if the troopers were to allow me to kill you, that would be disastrous for their recruitment, wouldn’t it?” she asked, stopping to see what he would say.

“Of course it would. It’s not easy to get people into the ranks as it is. If those boys and girls felt that their city didn’t reward them or kept them safe in retirement, well, they wouldn’t sign up,” he barked back, but caught himself when he realized he had said too much.

“Here’s the deal. I am going to turn on this holo-recorder. I want you to tell the trooper chief that I intend to skin you slowly until you bleed to death unless he releases the rebels that are being held in his cells, no later than tomorrow afternoon. I want them released into the woods south of here; they are to be dropped off by a shuttle. I want them to be left alone, and then I will take your body out of stasis and allow you to go free.”

Grei Rielles sat for a time, thinking it over, then stared at Marika to see if she was serious. When he had determined that she was as dangerous as he thought, he nodded his head, and Marika slid the table around in front of him and turned on the recorder.

“This won’t work,” he said.

“What won’t work?” Marika asked as she stood impatiently behind the holo, glaring at Grei. Delyi’s singing—that came audibly clear through the walls—was a sweet contrast to the sour mood inside of the room.

“The Red Lord does not negotiate with terrorists,” he said, looking her in the eyes so she would know he was serious.

“That’s too bad for you, then, since your life is what I’m bargaining. If it won’t work then I leave it up to you to find a way to convince him,” Marika said.

“What are you, anyway?” Grei asked with an eyebrow raised. “You some sort of Ranalos half-breed? Why is your skin all red and spotted like that? You remind me of a watermelon—”

Marika slapped him so hard that he couldn’t fathom how the amount of strength that came with the blow could have been summoned from so small a woman. She brought her hand back and slapped him again, and kept on doing it until he was knocked out cold.

“A whoremonger and a specist. My favorite combination,” she said. She then worked it over in her head if it would be a better plan to cut Grei’s throat rather than use him for ransom.

This was a different world and she didn’t know how Tyherans thought. From what she saw of Veece, they were a small, self-contained city that operated as a symbol for the other cities on Tyhera. If they were threatened by someone like her from the inside, they would want the threat removed immediately. But perhaps rebels were too high a price to pay for them to make her go away. Killing Grei would put the troopers into a panic. They would be forced to move quickly, either to hunt her down or protect their VIPs.

It was a difficult decision, but she was Marika Tsuno, the feared trigger of death. She would find a way to make this work, and she would find it sooner or later.

A
few days later in the streets of Veece, a chorus of screams echoed throughout the city. Grei Reilles, one of Tyhera’s finest examples of privilege earned from devoting a life of hard work to Palus Felitious, hung by his neck from a communication wire suspended from the rooftop of the trooper station.

The first person to see the corpse was a young Ranalos boy, running ahead of his mother to set up their stall in the market. When the troopers were summoned to cut the trooper down, the people of Veece demanded answers. Widespread fear took over the city and many assumed it to be the work of rebels. They saw it as a message for the “Red Lord,” Qeran Kyle:
Release the prisoners or there will be more
.

Of course, the brutal display had been orchestrated and carried out by Marika Tsuno. The night when she had sent them the recording to exchange Grei for Blu, they had informed her that Kyle disallowed any sort of negotiation with rebels. She had asked them kindly to reconsider, and though they had called and spoken to Kyle himself, he had denied the request outright.

Grei had played along, and for that Marika had given him a painless death during his sleep. She used the crystals to teleport to the top of the trooper’s roof and strung him up to send a message to Veece. Now as the city was buzzing with fear and disorder, she teleported out of the city into the hills, taking a crystal with her. She went back to the area she had used on the first day and set up the rifle like she had done before.

She lay there for hours as the troopers took to the city, trying to maintain the peace. She touched her ear to call Marian since she hadn’t spoken to her in a few days.

“Marika, are you okay?” Marian asked when the static had cleared and they could clearly hear one another.

“More than okay, but I don’t think I can say the same about your city,” she said.

“My city? Oh, Veece? Ha! What have you gone and done now? Did you do me a favor and put a bullet between the eyes of Qeran Kyle?”

“Oh, don’t I wish, I haven’t even met that bastard and he’s giving me more trouble than any other mark I’ve ever dealt with. Well, not a mark, but potential target – er, tell me, Marian, is he a mark? Is he someone I should take out, or will this cause you problems for helping your friends on the moon?”

“He’s a mark, alright. He has no bearing on what we’re planning on doing. Actually, if you take him out it may force Felitious to come out of hiding in order to name a new second. But you said that there was something going on in the city. I was planning to work my way back there. Should I stay away?”

The sound of a moving vehicle whooshed through her head, and Marika asked, “Where are you, on a train?”

“I’m at a Starport, on my way to Talula. I’ve found some friends to help us free the refugees on the moon, and I need to be there to help them set up,” Marian said.

“Well, here’s the situation,” Marika said. “I tried to make a trade for Blu. The Fels declined, even though it was one of their retired heroes. So—”

“So I’m guessing you showed them that you were serious and the city is losing its mind wondering who you are and why they were dumb enough to call your bluff,” Marian said and Marika could hear the smile in her words as she said it.

“That’s right. I left them a dolly with a red necktie on the trooper’s roof to think it over. Now I’m just waiting to see if they will bring out the big man to try and negotiate with me,” Marika said.

“Listen, I was a royal in their court for most of my life, and I can tell you that Qeran Kyle is not going to negotiate, no matter what you do—” Marian began.

“Even if I leave more dollies all over the city as the days go on?” Marika asked.

“I’m afraid so, Rika,” Marian said, using the nickname she had given her. “There are only two things that Kyle understands: pain and gifts that cater to his ego.”

“What if I just kill him?” Marika asked. “Will that force them to spring Blu and the others? I can start at the top and work my way down until they give me what I want.”

“They could possibly kill all of the freedom fighters to show strength under pressure if you did that. I think the proper step to take is to keep the general public in a state of panic. The troopers will do whatever they can to keep them under control. Force them to offer up Blu without the knowledge of Qeran Kyle. The troopers don’t answer directly to him, and they like their nice, uneventful lives the way it is. Make some waves, work up the panic, and they will reach out faster than you think,” Marian said.

“I knew you’d clear that up for me, Rhee,” Marika said. “Haven’t spoken to you in a couple of days. What have you been up to, besides enjoying the warm Tyheran sun?”

“Very funny, but I found a building with a secure communication system. It was one that Rafian and his monks used to use, if you can believe the coincidence. I reached out to resistance members on six planets, and we have a meeting set up on Talula in a couple of days.” She stopped, inhaling and exhaling steadily. “I’ve been fortunate with a lot of this, Marika, more than you would believe. Turns out there was a rescue attempt in the works already, but they counted Tyhera out. I told them about you and what you’re capable of, and it renewed their confidence in Tyhera’s rebels. Now if we can get Blu out to attend this meeting, we will be able to make a real move against Palus Felitious.”

Marika told Marian about Delyi and her promise to get her out. They both agreed that they would get her to safety as soon as the dust had settled. She got off the nano-comm and went back to her rifle, where she saw that things had calmed down near the trooper station.

She was following the path of a well-armed trooper when a man and his wife caught her attention immediately. She recognized his face and the clothes he wore, but she couldn’t remember why. Her thoughts went back to the visit she had made to the bar a few nights back. She stared at his face, super magnified by her XR3 rifle, and then focused instead on his wife. She thought about how the woman would look if she wore her hair down and she immediately remembered who he was.

Marika powered on the rifle, and dropped the shade on her scope to lock in on the man’s position. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, letting her finger easily depress the trigger. The shot struck the man in his chest, caught his heart, and froze his innards. He looked as if his skin turned a bluish green color as he collapsed backwards into a crowd of people.

The citizens of Veece scattered in a frenzied panic as they saw the gaping hole in the man’s chest. They had no idea where the shot had come from as the XR3 was a silent shot that spun him around when the bullet hit.

Marika cocked her rifle and closed her eyes as she kept her body rigid within the bushes. The kill didn’t feel good the way she expected it to, and she wanted to go back and stop herself. It was unprofessional, petty revenge, and she knew that as a Phaser she could be punished for it. She shuddered visibly as the guilt overcame her when she remembered the wife kneeling over him. She focused on her training and pushed down the guilt until it went away.

“He hits her. He deserved it,” she muttered to herself.

She teleported back into the room where an astonished Delyi screamed when she appeared out of nowhere.

“Alien technology you would never understand, girl. Calm yourself,” Marika said nonchalantly as she walked over to the computer and skimmed through the hacked records of the troopers. She walked over to the holo-recorder and powered it on, then threw a black shawl over her face. She then spun the recorder to face a wall in the room and nodded at Delyi to take over.

The Primian beauty lifted the recorder and pointed it at Marika to begin scanning.

“Troopers of Veece, terrible overlords to the people of Tyhera,” Marika began. “Today you lost two of your finest citizens due to your stubborn attitude towards my demands. Is the life of one, humble Deijen worth the amount of blood that I am willing to spill in your streets? I have walked among you and I know that the men I killed were far from innocent. But my patience grows thin, and I want our brothers freed. What will you tell your people when I stop killing corrupt, wicked men, and start picking off your citizens at random?” She stopped talking and stared at the light on the holo.

She spoke again. “If it isn’t clear to you what I am able to do, consider your vulnerable position. A few nights ago, you sent a team of your troopers to remove me from a house. I slaughtered them and sent one back to you barely alive. That was me. I was able to get to your protected sergeant, Grei Reilles, and from the corpse you found inside of the capital, you can see that I am one hell of a shot, too. Let me tell you who I am. You are probably assuming I am some petty bounty hunter hired by the resistance. I am not. You may even think I am one of the rebels you so easily rout on a daily basis. I am not. I have removed kings, tyrants, and invincible generals on contract by my guild. How safe do you think your beloved Qeran Kyle, the coward lord, really is?

“Last warning, troopers of Veece, and I will move into picking you apart piece by piece. Do not test me; I’ve shown my quality. Release Blu the Deijen, and the other rebel into the woods south of Veece by tomorrow night, or Qeran Kyle dies. I won’t promise that a few more citizens will not die in the process. My patience is over. Get them out, or I will do what I’ve promised.”

Delyi turned off the holo and Marika removed the shawl and exhaled slowly to let the pent up anger flow out with her breath. She sat on the bed and Delyi came over, sat next to her, and took her hand.

“You know, for the longest time, we have prayed for someone to come in and do the things you are doing here,” she said to Marika. “It is cruel work, but cruelty is the only thing the men of this city understand.”

“Do you think my speech will sway them into releasing my friends?” Marika asked her, and Delyi shook her head and closed her eyes.

“Very well,” Marika said and stared forward for a very long time. “Diplomacy has never been my strong suit. Ready your things tonight and get ready to leave when I come back tomorrow.”

“Where are you going?” the pretty Primian asked.

“Either to collect our friends from the Veece troopers, or to make good on my promise to kill the man you all know as the Red Lord,” Marika replied.

~ * ~

Marian’s eyes grew wide as she watched the large screen above the entrance to the Starport. It showcased the news reporter playing a bit of the recording that Marika had made. It had started with “trouble in Veece,” and then they showed the corpse of a citizen and a recording of Marika, dressed all in black with her voice saying, “What will you tell your people, when I start to pick off your citizens at random?”

A man next to her scoffed and touched the butt of his pistol. “What a little coward,” he said, “shooting innocents and then bragging about it via holo. I’d like to see her try it here in Ravela. We aren’t the soft, clueless elitists that Veece has, are we, sister?” he said to her, and Marian looked over at him and nodded in earnest.

If there’s one way to force the hand of Marika Tsuno, it’s to chop up her video and try to make a fool of her on the news
, Marian thought. She considered calling Marika and telling her to calm down in light of everything that was going on, but she thought better of it. If Queran Kyle could die while she was off-planet, it would be a massive blow to the Felitians.

The walls of the Starport shook as the transport landed, and Marian pulled her coat tight, ducked her head, and walked up the ramp as the landing thrusters blew dust everywhere. She nodded to the ticket droid and slid between the numerous rows of seats until she found the back. She kept her head tucked, slid into the last row, and took the seat near the window.

She watched a variety of men and women board and took mental note of who was armed and who was not. Ravela was a tiny city, filled with flowers, but its residents were dangerous, a result of the many skirmishes they’d had with rebels.

Outside of the ship, Marian watched the screen as the reporters interviewed a number of troopers in Veece. She almost felt sorry for them as they tried to play brave. Luca was ill-equipped to deal with one Phaser, let alone two. Veece was now dealing with a Phaser that had been trained to be an assassin. Their technology was not up to snuff, and their personnel was not ready for the likes of Marika Tsuno.

The engines powered on after an hour delay, and the large vessel began to lift out of Ravela’s dusty port. Numerous cruisers and droid-powered ships took to the air, flying around them to check for bombs, stowaways, or anything that could delay their flight. The big engines boomed and the ground fell away, and before long they were rising at an incredible rate.

Marian watched the ship rise and the beautiful landscape of Tyhera spread out in all directions below them. She shifted her gaze upward as the white clouds consumed them. The ship picked up speed as it went, and then tilted and shot out towards Talula. Marian could no longer look at Tyhera, which fell away behind them as it flew, so she looked down at her finger and began to play with her wedding ring.

I can’t believe I almost threw this away over anger and jealousy
, she thought.
Rafian’s a jerk, and he deserves to be left by himself for it, but there are so many things bigger than us
.

She reflected on their marriage and then her parents. Her father would not have approved of her marriage to him, and her mother—as usual—would side with her father on the matter. It took traveling to Anstractor and seeing the way that women and men operated within an equal spectrum for her to realize the issues on her own planet. She had been a baroness when she was younger, but she was still a prize that was meant for a man like Queran Kyle. It wasn’t a big secret that Kyle had requested her as his mate when she was sixteen, but her Uncle Okov Wilder had interfered and had lost his life for it.